Charnobyl catastrophe victims have free ICRIN internet cut off

Officials from Rahachou district turned the UN project into a source of income and then cut off the network completely.

A resident of Il’ich settlement of Rahachou district of Homiel region reported about that to charter97.org. The settlement suffered from the Charnobyl nuclear power plant catastrophe.

As the reader reported, local officials from the district’s department of culture first started charging for the access to the internet in the framework of the program Development of International Chernobyl Research and Information Network (ICRIN) and then completely cut off the access.

“In October 2011 an information center was opened in the settlement’s palace of culture in Il’ich settlement of Rahachou district of Homiel region. Equipment was installed: computers with licensed software, a wireless router for internet access, a laminator and other office equipment”, - the local resident reports.

“The center was of big demand and popularity among the residents of our settlement. At the beginning everything was according to the project. Internet access was absolutely free and other srvices were also available for the settlement’s residents. But in some time the district’s department of culture could not put up with the fact that so many expensive equipment items were installed in Il’ich settlement and all the services for were provided for free. First the management of the district’s department of culture blatantly appropriated one of the computers, which was provided not for their personal use, but for the residents of our settlement. Then some office equipment was taken out. By that they have deprived the settlement’s residents of its further exploitation”, - the settlement’s resident revolts.

“In some time after that they started charging for the center’s services for some weird reasons. A restricted hour tariff has been introduced. According to the project, the services must be provided for free, but they have made a source of income out of the information center. The district’s department of culture is blatantly using the charitable contribution for its needs”, - the reader reports.

“The outrage did not stop there. The internet connection at the information center started malfunctioning. It was often disconnected for non-payment. Then the internet disappeared entirely. The district department of culture linked it to the change of the legal address of the organization and signing new agreements. Soon after that the internet connection came back after the re-registration, but not for long. At the moment there has been no internet at all for a month”, - the Il’ich’s resident writes.

At the United Nations Development Programme they told that the ICRIN project was closed and its former head Ivan Zacepin no longer worked there.

It was not possible to obtain a comment from the local authorities, the representatives of which were present at the information center’s opening in 2011.